Otto Weddigen
| Otto Eduard Weddigen | |
|---|---|
Otto Eduard Weddigen
|
|
| Born | 15 September 1882 Herford |
| Died | 18 March 1915 (aged 32) Pentland Firth |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 Kaiserliche Marine
|
| Years of service | 1901 - 1915 |
| Rank | Kapitänleutnant |
| Commands held |
U-9, 1 August 1914 – 11 January 1915 U-29, 16 February 1915 – 18 March 1915 |
| Battles/wars | U-boat Campaign (World War I) |
| Awards |
Pour le Mérite Iron Cross First & Second Class |
Otto Eduard Weddigen (15 September 1882 – 18 March 1915) was a German U-boat commander during World War I.
He was born in Herford, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia and started his military career in the Kaiserliche Marine in 1901. In 1910 he was given command of one of the first German submarines, U-9.
On 22 September 1914, while patrolling in the region of the southern North Sea known to the British as the "Broad Fourteens", U-9 intercepted the three warships of the Seventh Cruiser Squadron. Weddigen fired off all six of his torpedoes, reloaded while submerged, and in less than an hour sank the three British armoured cruisers HMS Aboukir, HMS Hogue and HMS Cressy. Sixty two officers and 1,397 men were killed, only 837 survived. Weddigen was awarded the Iron Cross, second and first class.
After sinking HMS Hawke and some merchant ships, Weddigen received Prussia's highest military order, the Pour le Mérite. He also received the highest military honors of the other kingdoms of the German Empire: The Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph of the Bavaria (making him one of only six non-Bavarians to receive this), the Knight's Cross of Saxony's Military Order of St. Henry and the Knight's Cross of Württemberg's Military Merit Order.
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